Meet & Greet the Candidates in the 2019 Consolidated Election

A list below includes 27 candidates, including one for City Council who reportedly withdrew this week, who have filed to run in the Consolidated Election on Tues., April 2, 2019. That important date is when the local electorate will vote for Naperville Mayor and City Council, District 203 and District 204 school boards and Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners.

In addition, two six-year term College Trustee positions are open on the College of DuPage Board of Trustees, Community College District #502, located in Glen Ellyn.

Six candidates hoping to serve one of three available four-year terms on the School District 203 Board of Education are Janet Yang Rohr*, Kristine M. Gericke*, Becky Rudolph, Cecilia Fox, Char Lynnette Dalton and Joseph F. Kozminski.

Five candidates hoping to serve one of three available four-year terms on the School District 204 Board of Education are Mark Rising*, Justin J. Karubas*, Natasha Grover*, Carole M. Jones and Gautam “GB” Bhatia.

Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners

Three candidates vying for three four-year terms on the Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners are incumbents Rich Janor and Marie Todd, and newcomer Josh McBroom. With only three candidates and three seats to fill, for the second Consolidated Election in a row, there will be no contest for the NPD Board of Commissioners.

Get to know all candidates / Local matters most

Now is the time to become familiar with all candidates and the issues. Ask why they’re running. And find out what they know about the local governing bodies on which they wish to serve.

“Meet & Greet” opportunities usually are priced by candidates to cover costs of light refreshments, perhaps one drink ticket, and the privacy of room at a restaurant to host the event. Get acquainted with the candidates and determine whether or not you’d like to support them with additional funds for mailers, signs and other items necessary to campaign for many happy returns on April 2, 2019.

According to requests to be placed on this event listing, fundraising “meet and greet” events to welcome attendance by interested residents to become acquainted with candidates began Jan. 7. All events requested for this post will remain in place throughout the campaign.

We’re reminded again of the words attributed to an ancient Greek philosopher, mindful way back when that one of the most important rights and responsibilities that citizens have is to become involved and choose leaders who will focus on things that are important to them. According to Plato, “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

Note! Candidate websites/events are posted upon request and at no charge on this Meet & Greet page. Requests must be made by the candidates or their campaign organizers in our quest to help voters get to know the hopefuls and the issues. In our opinion, and since social media is member-based and not necessarily available to everyone, a managed website indicates that a candidate is serious about the election. Thanks for your continued interest. —PN

Fundraisers Planned for 2019

All local candidates are welcome to send dates to post here that include website addresses for public meet & greets as well as fundraisers. Please follow the simple format and send info to stephanie@positivelynaperville.com. Thank you.

PN will mark already past events and this week’s gatherings in red.

Public events for January, February & March posted in order as received…

Completed! / Join the Bruce Hanson for Council Committee to Kick Off Our Campaign with a Party. Live Music by Tres Moustache. Special Guest Speaker Grant Wehrli. (If you missed it, next up is Feb. 12 at Hugo’s.)

Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Mayor/City Council Candidate Mixer / Note new format will be introduced in the spirit of speed networking: One table for each candidate. Candidates will spend 5-6 minutes per table answering question. There will be 8 people per table (max 10) and the final table will be a media table. Media can then ask questions and NCTV will get a 2-minute video of each candidate.

Reminder! Candidate websites/events are posted upon request and at no charge on this Meet & Greet page. Requests must be made by the candidates or their campaign organizers in our quest to help voters get to know the hopefuls and the issues. Campaign paid advertising is available in print with digital availability. In our opinion, and since social media is member-based and not necessarily available to everyone, a managed website indicates that a candidate is serious about the election and serving the community. Thanks for your interest. —PN

One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. —Plato

Election Day / Polls open 6AM-7PM Tues., April 2

Justin Karubas will host candidates, school board members, administrators, teachers and residents for Indian Prairie 204 Election Day Coming Together Party.